Adjective type order rules are the best-kept secret in English, I was literally never taught this and I’ve got a degree in technical communications. XD
“Big” being a size adjective and “bad” being its purpose in the fairy tale.
As opposed to “bad big wolf”, which implies that there is more than one big wolf to be referred to and specifies that referral to the one I dislike. =D
I think it’s because the thing is either too obvious (if you’re native) or too specialized (if you’re a linguist). E.g. Chinese seem to also have a strict adj. order, but we only got to study it by pure chance.
I would also guess that many languages that usually don’t have a strict order will have parts that do, e.g. in Spanish it seems you may shuffle some words but not everything
Opinion – limiter adjectives (e.g. a real hero, a perfect idiot) and adjectives of subjective measure (e.g. beautiful, interesting) or value (e.g. good, bad, costly)
Adjective type order rules are the best-kept secret in English, I was literally never taught this and I’ve got a degree in technical communications. XD
Big bad wolf.
Ablaut reduplication trumps adjective order
I know some of those words
Overriden by ablaut reduplication.
“Big” being a size adjective and “bad” being its purpose in the fairy tale.
As opposed to “bad big wolf”, which implies that there is more than one big wolf to be referred to and specifies that referral to the one I dislike. =D
I think it’s because the thing is either too obvious (if you’re native) or too specialized (if you’re a linguist). E.g. Chinese seem to also have a strict adj. order, but we only got to study it by pure chance.
I would also guess that many languages that usually don’t have a strict order will have parts that do, e.g. in Spanish it seems you may shuffle some words but not everything
The image above transcribed:
Opinion – limiter adjectives (e.g. a real hero, a perfect idiot) and adjectives of subjective measure (e.g. beautiful, interesting) or value (e.g. good, bad, costly)
Size – adjectives denoting physical size (e.g. tiny, big, extensive)
Shape or physical quality – adjectives describing more detailed physical attributes than overall size (e.g. round, sharp, swollen, thin)
Age – adjectives denoting age (e.g. young, old, new, ancient, six-year-old)
Colour – adjectives denoting colour or pattern (e.g. white, black, pale, spotted)
Origin – denominational adjectives denoting source (e.g. Japanese, volcanic, extraterrestrial)
Material – denominational adjectives denoting what something is made of (e.g. woollen, metallic, wooden)
Qualifier/purpose – final limiter, which sometimes forms part of the (compound) noun (e.g., rocking chair, hunting cabin, passenger car, book cover)